Chavez: Venezuelans Not Politically Mature

By IBT Staff Reporter12/05/07 AT 5:49 PM

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday his supporters can expect him to introduce a reform plan in a new offensive which will turn the country into a socialist state before his term ends in 2013.

Speaking at a news conference in Caracas, Chavez said a new plan could be modified to make it easier for citizens to understand and be pushed forward through a constitutional assembly. Earlier this week, Venezuelans rejected Chavez's referendum to allow him to stay in power for as long as he won elections and to formally establish the country as socialist state.

Maybe 2 million, 3 million, even 4 million Venezuelans are still not politically mature enough to openly and wholeheartedly embrace a socialist project, Chavez said in an interview on state television.

The anti-U.S. president admitted he made a mistake with the proposed reforms, not that they were wrong he said, but because he proposed the changes to embed his 21st century socialism in the OPEC nation before Venezuelans were ready to accept them.

I made a mistake over choosing the strategic timing for making the proposal, he said.